DayZ Standalone vs DayZ Mod

Before going any further, it’s important to make a distinction between DayZ Standalone and the DayZ mod.

Before it was a standalone game, DayZ began as a mod for the popular game ARMA 2. In order to play the DayZ mod, you’ll need to own ARMA 2 as well.

Due to the success of the mod, development of a standalone DayZ game began. The standalone version features a number of differences, including an updated game engine and map, many more enterable buildings and other improvements.

Although both games have the same name, they have a number of differences and you may prefer one over the other. The version we are referring to in this article is DayZ standalone.

How We Chose

Unlike hosting your own server, when it comes to renting, there are an almost overwhelming number of options and features to consider.

Because of this variety, it is difficult to crown one hosting provider as superior to all others.

Like many things, you may find your company preference is greatly influenced by the goals and objectives you have for your server.

You might be in pursuit of the best performance, cheapest server, or a great modded experience.

Because of this, we selected five different providers that provide a variety of features. In our decision, we factored cost, performance, support, server locations, and other components.

One server provider may stick out to you above the others for its features, which is why we included five varying server companies to choose from.

Despite the console option, most DayZ players are likely to use a computer. If you’re looking for a PC server rental, then Citadel Servers provides great options.

Servers start at $8.70 a month for 10 slots, increasing all the way up to 127 players. There are dozens of server locations across the world, from North America to Europe, as well as Australia and Asia.

Citadel Servers also includes a MySQL database for free. Mod support is also excellent, with a fully automated workshop mod downloader along with the ability to upload a custom game map.

Free DDOS protection and the ability to add a dedicated IP address round out this server provider’s features.

Cheap DayZ Standalone Server Hosting

PingPerfect

Game Servers

Not only do they have great servers and an awesome control panel, they also have an amazing support team. Their responsiveness and helpfulness absolutely blew me away, especially when compared to the other companies on this list.

If you’re looking for a server with great support, then Host Havoc is an excellent choice.

This provider offers DayZ servers starting 20 slots for $18.50 a month, increasing up to 80 slots. They have 11 servers across North America and Europe, including one in Oceania.

Mod installation is a relatively simple process. Simply gather mod ID’s from the Steam workshop, then input them into the server control panel’s Workshop Mod Handler. A couple more steps, and installation is finished.

Host Havoc also offers free DDOS protection and a 72-hour money back guarantee if you’re not totally satisfied.

Their service is also great, with an average response time of under 15 minutes.

How to Choose DayZ Standalone Server Hosting

As previously stated, different hosting providers offer different features and add-ons for different prices.

Depending on your needs, you may or may not find the increased cost to be worth the benefits it provides.

The first feature to evaluate is players/slots. Obviously, a server for just you and your friends requires many fewer slots than a large community server. Most DayZ providers start at around 10 slots and scale up the price for up to somewhere around 100 players.

After that, you’ll want to look at server locations. This is often overlooked, but is an incredibly important feature. If you are thousands of miles from the server, no matter how good your hardware is, your ping is going to be painfully high.

Next, you’ll want to consider the amount of RAM for your server. For more information on memory requirements, refer to the FAQ section below.

If you want increased performance, you can opt to upgrade the server’s CPU or hard drive. After looking at hardware configurations, there are still many software features to consider.

Free DDOS protection is a great security feature that many companies provide. Automatic back-ups and game updates are also excellent for increased convenience.

Some providers don’t offer mod support at all, while others offer support and included installation. If you’d like a modded server, be sure to check how easy or difficult your provider makes mod installation.

Lastly, little additions such as a dedicated IP or VIP support upgrades can be useful if you’re interested in such quality-of-life improvements.

DayZ Standalone Private Server Hosting

If you’d prefer your own server over a community or official server, the first option you have is to create and host a server on your own computer.

We’ll go through a quick run-down of how to set up a private server, but you can also check out our DayZ server hosting page for an in-depth guide.

First you’ll need to open Steam and select the “Tools” option in the Library drop-down tab. From there, you can find the DayZ Server program. Click “Install game”, adding desktop shortcuts if you’d like.

From there, open file explorer and navigate to: C:\ProgramFiles(x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\DayZServer. This is the default install location.

Next, you’ll need to create a batch file. To do this, right-click and create a text file, then name it “start.bat”. You can then google a DayZ server batch file and copy it into the text file.

After this, you can open the “serverDZ.cfg” file. This allows you to configure settings such as max players, server name, time, etc.

Next, you’ll need to open ports. The DayZ Server file normally does this automatically. However, you can check by going to “Windows Defender Firewall”.

Select the advanced options, and look at the inbound rules tab. You should be able to see DayZ Server on the list.

Finally, you can start the server. Simply double click the start.bat file, and the server should open.

If you’re hosting your own server, you’ll need to keep in mind the server is only open when your computer is on and the program is running.

This may be a problem if you do not have a computer dedicated to hosting and are trying to run a large server with many players.

Alternatively, you could choose to rent from a server provider. While this isn’t free, rented servers will be up 24/7, along with a variety of other benefits.

About DayZ

Unlike many other survival games, DayZ incorporates a variety of mechanics to ensure that gameplay is dangerous and must be approached tactically.

Of course, you’ll have to deal with hordes of zombies coming your way, but the undead aren’t even the biggest threat.

This hardcore survival game goes far beyond just a health bar, integrating features like hunger, thirst, temperature, and blood. There are even various illnesses you can catch, and potential blood transfusions that require matching blood types!

If you survive all this, you’ll still have to contend with other players online. Some may be friendly, but others might shoot on sight.

Needless to say, this game is not for the faint of heart, rather the hardened survivalist. Despite this, there’s nothing more satisfying than looting up, acquiring weapons, and coming out on top in a heart-pounding PVP battle.

Frequently Asked Questions

DayZ server hosting can be a tricky business, with lots of confusing topics.

In the sections below, we’ll answer some frequently asked questions about DayZ hosting.

Can I make my own server on DayZ?

Yes, creating your own server for DayZ is entirely possible. Naturally, you have to own the DayZ standalone game before you can set up your own server.

If you have the game, it’s just a matter of downloading some software and taking a couple more steps to set it up.

Creating your own server is totally free, but you’ll need a spare computer in order to do so. The server will only run while your computer is on, so the server will have a lot of down time unless you can dedicate a PC to running the server 24/7.

For a quick overview of how to set up a server, check out the section above on private server hosting.

How much is it to rent a DayZ server?

This is a common question, but there’s no one right answer for how much it costs to rent a server.

It all depends on your needs and goals as a server owner.

If you’d just like a small server for you and a few friends, you could go as low as $5-6 a month. Every add-on will increase the cost though.

Upgrades to performance and other software features can quickly send the price into uncomfortable territory.

For a large server with around 100 players, renting could cost well over $100 per month.

How much RAM does a DayZ server need?

Unfortunately, DayZ is a rather resource-hungry game, and this translates to higher server hosting requirements as well.

The huge map size along with the graphical demands of the game require a large amount of RAM to run properly. This means that any server requires a large amount of RAM due to the map, but increases more slowly with additional players.

The devs have stated that the minimum amount of RAM required to run a DayZ server is 6 GB. However, you might be able to scrape by with around 5 GB if you have a smaller server with under 10 ten players.

8-12 GB should work fine for around 20-40 players. For a server with around 50-60 players, aim for around 16 GB. If you want a huge server with 100 people, that might require 24-32 GB of RAM.

What happens when a DayZ server restarts?

If you’re unfamiliar with how servers operate, a server restart may seem somewhat catastrophic. Luckily though, server restarts happen often and are no cause for alarm.

Servers used to restart to reset item spawns, but this now happens entirely independently. Restarts are performed to improve server stability and decrease crashes.

Just before a server restarts, it will perform a final save. Anything that occurs after the save but before the restart will not be preserved.

However, any items and progress made before the save will be kept, so no need to worry about losing your progress.

Can you play DayZ offline?

Currently, there is no “official” method to play DayZ offline. This feature was implemented when the game was in beta, but hasn’t been updated since. As such, it’s not functional.

There are a couple work-arounds to this issue though. An unofficial mod called the DayZ Community Offline Mode was created, but it’s not on the Steam Workshop. You must download it and install from github.

Alternatively, you can host a lan server on your computer. This isn’t an ideal fix, but you can just play by yourself, or add friends by port forwarding.

Conclusion

DayZ is a hardcore survival game where the zombies aren’t even the biggest threat. However, survival is much more entertaining with other people, whether you’re exploring together or getting ambushed by a clan.

Official and community servers are a great introduction if you’re new to the game, but lack control you may desire.

The best way to control your experience is hosting your own server. If you have a spare PC or are knowledgeable about servers, then hosting your own private server is a great option.

Otherwise, you can choose to rent a DayZ server from a variety of providers. Whether you’d like a small server for friends, or a massive public server, server companies offer features for any size server.

Elements like DDOS protection, game back-ups, hardware upgrades, and mod support are all available to provide an experience tailored to your needs.